Why is my lawn NEON green?

It rained lightly over the next 5-7 and the grass really took off. I mowed for the first time this year on the first dry day after that(2 days ago). Yesterday we got 2.5 inches of rain. Today another 1 inch so far. Well I just returned home and saw that my lawn is literally NEON green. Some spots are approaching neon yellow and I fear they will die with the rest of the lawn following suit. Everyone else has nice medium to medium-dark green lawns. What the heck did I do to mine?!

I used Scotts products last year although not this one because it's a spring fertilizer and we moved in in early summer. Nothing like this happened and I didn't use any more fertilizer than I normally do. I'll try to get a picture of my lawn and a neighbor's for comparison. It's bad

Why is my lawn NEON green?

My guess is the spreader clogged on chunks of fertilizer so you did not get it distributed evenly. I used to use half the amount in two directions to be safe and broke up clumps with my hand (probably not such a great idea without gloves). Those handheld spreaders otherwise work great for a yard your size IMO. Wearing a dust mask when using them is not a bad idea though.

It could be that the nutrients are just leaching into the soil at a different rate. It looks to me like you are due for aerating so latch on to one of the companies that will probably be knocking on your door soon.

A soil test will not be expensive and has the potential to save you lots of money you might waste on plant material and nutrients. If the resources suggested do not work check with your nearest University, county or state ag extension office for a list of soil labs. Your libarary may have a list as well. A soil lab will provide you with sampling instructions and some may lend you a core sampler (although one is not absolutely necessary). Their reports will come with an analysis of what is going on and what to add to fix it. If the soil is wacked it will have a hard time metabolizing nutrients.

If it doesn't even out in 2-3 weeks you might think about a dose of nitrogen-only fertilizer in a quick acting form---something like ammonium sulfate---to even out the green shades. Apply at the rate of 1lb of nitrogen (first number in the NPK ratio on the sack, 20-0-0, for example will tell you how much nitrogen is in the sack. A 100 pound sack with that NPK will have 20 pounds of nitrogen) per 1,000 sf. Be sure and rinse it off the grass blades down to the soil.

Why is my lawn NEON green?

Oh, and don't soil test right after applying fert. You have to wait a few months for the fertilizer to be incorporated into the soil layer.

Sdsester - I was thinking those brighter spots looked like Nitrogen burn, so applying more N might not be the best idea. It's possible the lawn is low on a trace mineral or iron, but without a soil test, the best any of us can do is speculate.